DETROIT >> Getting the call to come to the big leagues isn’t the first time Chad Smith has gotten surprised by the Detroit Tigers organization.

Just two weeks after his junior year at the University of Southern California was halted by Tommy John surgery, he was drafted in the 17th round by the Tigers.

Two years after that, he was pitching in mop-up duty for the Tigers’ Class A affiliate in Grand Rapids.

Now, he’s in the big leagues, called up Wednesday to bolster a beleaguered big-league bullpen that’s been called upon far too often, because of the struggles of the starting rotation.

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“Coming into spring training, I was thinking start in High-A and finish the season in Double-A. Then when I was able to start in Double-A, I was like, man, I just hope I stay in Double-A and don’t get moved down to High-A. Then I got the call on a Sunday from Lance Parrish in Double-A and he said I was going up. I was shocked. Then last night I was even more shocked,” said the 24-year-old Smith, who was not expecting his fast rise through the Tigers system.

“Not really because at this time last year I was throwing mop-up duty in Low-A in West Michigan so it’s come so fast. I definitely appreciate every day.”

After posting a 2.12 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP in 72 innings for West Michigan last year, Smith started at Double-A Erie, making seven appearances with the Sea Wolves before moving to Triple-A Toledo at the start of May. Since then, he’s posted a 1.64 ERA and an 0.955 WHIP in 22 innings of work, earning himself a shot.

“He’s pitched very well. He’s not a guy that was really on the radar in spring training, but has pitched his way onto the radar over the first three months of the season,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “But I don’t know a lot about him. We’ll find out on the fly.”

The Tigers knew they were taking a risk when they tabbed Smith — the Trojans’ closer later in his college career, after being recruited as a starter by former Tigers catcher Chad Kreuter, then the USC coach — in the 2011 draft.

His prospects certainly took a tumble after his slider-heavy repertoire ended up hurting his elbow on one pitch late in a game vs. Oregon.

“It was (a) ‘I take care of my body, it’s not supposed to happen to me’ type of deal. I was halfway through my junior season at USC and I’m thinking draft, I’m thinking all these big things in my head and all of a sudden, one Sunday I blew out my elbow. I instantly knew something was wrong. That was a tough time because I’d worked hard and thought I’d kept my body right, but it was just my arm couldn’t handle it,” said Smith, who recalled he’d been hearing second- to fourth-round estimates for where he’d get drafted.

“Before I got hurt, I talked to most of the teams. After, there were only a few teams that were willing to talk to me. The Tigers were one of those teams. I was ready to rehab, redshirt the next year and go back as a fifth-year senior. The Tigers had faith in me, they believed in me. We were able to work it out where I signed, then I went back to school and finished my degree that fall, then went out and rehabbed with the Tigers. Been going ever since.”

What’s been going the best is the sinker that he’s been using as his dominant pitch, along with the slider. It has helped him live with velocity in the low 90s, that didn’t come back right away after surgery.

“It took a while. I was probably first coming back 88-90 (mph), but it was 88-90 at the backstop. It was either right down the middle, backstop behind him. It was one of those things I couldn’t explain. My mind knew what to do but my body couldn’t do it, so that was a mental block that I had for a long time. Just kind of slowly over time, I got stronger and I finally truly trusted my elbow and wasn’t scared. That was the biggest thing, just to be out on the mound and let it go and not be worried about what happens,” Smith said.

“I used to think I was a hard thrower, then I got to pro ball and realized everyone throws just as hard as me or harder. So I throw a lot of sinkers, that’s kind of been my pitch. I kind of figured that out this spring. The catcher kept calling it, I kept throwing it and they weren’t hitting it. I just kind of rolled with that. I’m a sinker-slider pitcher, come out of the bullpen. I’ve been in the sixth, seventh inning mainly this year. I don’t know what I’m going to do up here but I’ll be ready to go.”

The gamble certainly paid off for the Tigers, who only had two other players from that draft — sixth-rounder Tyler Collins and seventh-rounder Brian Flynn (with the Marlins) — make it to the big leagues.